1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to managing network data, and in particular, to a computer implemented method for masking network data according to context based rules.
2. Description of Related Art
Enterprises attempt to strike a balance between protecting their sensitive data while needing to allow their personnel to utilize that sensitive data in the operations of the enterprise, both internally and externally. Such sensitive information is often shared through a variety of applications, including webpages which may be viewed internally and externally with proper authorization. Often enterprises rely on educating their employees to not release data where unauthorized personnel may receive that data. In addition, certain procedures may be implemented with an enterprise to further protect such sensitive information. Furthermore, some companies may utilize various types of snooping software to identify where certain information may have been improperly shared on-line such as by looking for certain codenames in email traffic.
Another problem enterprises face is that the definitions of who can or cannot see certain data may change over time. Changes in regulations and security/privacy can limit which employees have access to certain types of data such as personal identification information (PII) and protected health information (PHI). Also, if an enterprise decides to outsource operations there can be issues of data privacy and security. For example, a call enter application written 10 years ago where customer service agents were all internal employees may not be easily used when the customer service agents are outsourced to an external enterprise and even more so when these agents no longer work in the same country. In all these cases the enterprise may need to substantially modify or rewrite the application to comply with new privacy and security requirements. If the application is a legacy application written many years ago, such modifications may be time consuming and expensive.